Two Men Caught For Slashing At Least 30 Tires In Palm Springs Neighborhood

Residents woke up Wednesday morning to an unpleasant surprise: Someone slashed their tires.

That same night, Palm Springs police arrested two men in connection with the crimes.

18-year-old Andrew Albritton and 23-year-old Daniel Velaicea were taken into police custody. They now face several charges, including vandalism.

“People work hard,” said Katy Diquattro, who called police. “They get their rent and live paycheck to paycheck. They can’t afford tires.”

Christina Rios’ two cars were vandalized. She says some of her tires were new at $160 apiece.

“I have a job, thank God,” she said. “But, I have two kids. I don’t have time to be doing this.”

Vandalized cars were parked along Calle Encilia in front of the Rancheria Del Sol apartments. More damaged cars were in the parking lot of the Whispering Palms complex at the corner of Encilia and Arenas Rd.

Residents guessed at least thirty cars were affected. Some vehicles had more than one of their tires slashed. Romeo Solis ended up walking to work after discovering two of his tires dead. He said he has to spend $200 dollars to replace them

Some of the victims hope justice will be served. One of the apartment complexes has a 24-hour surveillance video camera that points directly at the street.

“What goes around, comes around. They’ll pay for it sooner or later,” said Rios. “Hopefully, they catch whoever’s doing this because it’s not a joke.”

Some residents say more security guards and more police patrolling need to happen in their neighborhood because someone is making their lives miserable.

“People need to realize you can’t do this to families anymore. It’s not ok,” said Diquattro.